Alwaght- Russia has reiterated its willingness to cooperate in the fight against the ISIS terrorist group, but insists it will not be part of the current US-led coalition as it does not have a UN mandate.
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin while insisting Moscow will not join the US-led anti-ISIS coalition added that, “They bomb the Syrian territory without the consent of the Syrian government and without authorization from the Security Council.”
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday as Russia takes over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, Churkin noted that, “They cannot figure out their priorities. We believe that clearly the priority now is to fight ISIS but they cannot make their choice between fighting the Syrian government and ISIS.”
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, also stated on Tuesday, that the US-led anti- coalition is ineffective, because it is not based on the legitimacy of the UN Security Council.
The minister said in a speech in Moscow “The role of the US-led coalition is ineffective because it is not based on the legitimacy of the UN Security Council.”
Lavrov also called for an end to “unrealistic and illogical” demands for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“If we remove from the equation the entirely unrealistic and counterproductive demand of the resignation of Assad as a precondition for the fight against terrorism... we may work effectively,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.He went on to say that the West has double standards when it comes to the legitimacy of Assad.
“It simply cannot be that, for the purpose of the destruction of chemical weapons Assad is legitimate, and for the purpose of fighting against terrorism he is not. It is not logical,” Lavrov said.
The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now.
The violence has also forced over four million Syrians to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon. More than 7.2 million others have been displaced internally, according to UN figures.
Syria blames western countries led by the US and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for being the main backers of terrorists fighting to topple the country’s legitimate government.